Raising Resources from International Foundations (Foundation Building Best Practice Study Excerpt)

This section gives some Examples of how local foundations have raised resources from international foundations

Example 1: A Partnership with the Danielle Agostino Foundation
Vamos Foundation, Mexico
Example 2: Core Funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Foundation For Community Development, Mozambique

Which International Foundations Might Support Grantmaking Foundations in Other Countries?

Summary Points

Successful proposals focus on initiatives that fit the objectives of both foundations. Foundations that give international support need to meet their particular objectives.The Danielle Agostino Foundation from the US and Vamos met and discussed these potential areas of collaboration a number of times. The proposals that rose out of this contact gained from the good understanding on both sides of the intersection of objectives and ends.
Partnerships to jointly tackle common objectives can build on the strengths of both organizations. Beyond the financial support that can be developed in a foundation-to-foundation relationship, is the potential of building on the strengths to improve the impact of grantmaking. A local foundation brings to bear knowledge of local conditions, a capacity for consistent and long-term interaction with grantees and the objective of mobilizing local resources. The international foundation has knowledge of good practices in other countries where it works, access to greater financial resources and connections to other organizations. Such partnerships, however, are not easy to maintain.
Different laws, customs, expectations and policies may limit the possible support from foundations with international programs and the level of funding available. It can be a challenge to build the level of trust and understanding needed to create a successful proposal. One reason many foundations still support international NGOs for their work in other countries, rather than local NGOs, is because they can more easily guarantee that their funding will be used in an accountable manner. In the case of the FDC, the John T. and Catherine D. MacArthur Foundation gave its first funding through a US intermediary that could assume fiscal responsibility. Later, as the FDC began to develop its own systems and procedures, MacArthur gave its funding directly to the FDC.
Managing a successful relationship required good capacity in, at least, the following areas: program design and execution, financial management and accounting, and communications. FDC and Vamos found that they had to have good programs and the capacity to report and communicate what they have done. These capacities were fundamental, not only to their ability to maintain a good relationship with their donor, but to their bottom line -- the social and economic impact that they can make.
Support coming from foundations with international grantmaking programs might be developed for programs, institutional development or endowment. Different foundations have various restrictions on the types of support but have given support for programs (grantmaking and other programs) and the development of the institution itself. The case of Vamos is an example of program support and the case of the FDC is an example of support for institutional development. Endowment support is less common. The case of the Puerto Rico Community Foundation is an
Example of raising endowment support from the Ford Foundation.

A small number of foundations, primarily in North America, Europe and Japan, have international grantmaking programs. Among these internationally active foundations, only a handful have channeled their support through foundations in other countries. This funding, however, has been critical in several cases to the growth and development of foundations in other countries. Many international foundations publicize the countries and areas of activity they are interested in supporting. Guidelines can be obtained directly from them and are often available on the internet.

Why Do International Foundations Support Partner Foundations in Other Countries? An international foundation may, of course, have any number of objectives that bring them to work with counterparts in other countries. Among the reasons that they chose to work with the foundations in this section were:

To gain access to local knowledge and organizations
To work with counterparts share similar values and standards of accountability
To increase the sustainability of their efforts in other countries by supporting the growth of local philanthropic institutions that will continue these efforts International foundations have assisted counterpart foundations by:
Co-funding their grantmaking programs
Assisting them to mobilize additional resources
Providing technical support
Funding core operational costs

How Can International Foundations Be Approached?

International foundations, like their counterparts, will have their own policies on how potential support can or should be developed. Some will have staff in the field. Some may proactively approach the local foundation with an idea for a joint program. Some consider and even prefer unsolicited proposals while others will not consider funding a proposal without significant prior contact.

The Vamos Foundation and the Foundation for Community Development (FDC) both found that they needed to invest time in getting to know the staff and relevant objectives of the international foundation. This served as a basis for developing a good relationship and lines of communication. Their experience suggests three separate phases in the relationship.

Laying the Groundwork
Making contact with the staff or others connected to the international foundation helped launch a discussion and build understanding. These contacts came through the participation of a founder in an international conference in the case of the FDC, and were assisted by the facilitation of a third party in the case of Vamos. In laying the groundwork, both foundations attempted to:
- Identify the areas of funding and objectives of the international foundation
- Discuss their own objectives and how they would be accomplished
- Provide a broader context about their role in society
- Demonstrate their capacity and integrity
Refining the Proposal
The groundwork now begins to take shape as concrete proposals for action. Neither Vamos nor FDC submitted unsolicited proposals. They created the content of the proposals in consultation with their constituents and the staff of the international foundations. These proposals were revised with feedback from both foundations. In both cases, the relationship between the local and international foundations involved a series of proposals each building upon the results of previous years work. They found strong supplementary communications material, a good reputation, an excellent proposal and the ability to carry it out were critical to their success.
Evaluating Progress and Next Steps
Once the proposals were funded FDC and Vamos needed to keep their international foundation partners well informed about their progress -- something that was not always as simple as it may sound. A reporting process is usually built into any funding agreement, but this is only one aspect in which the foundations discussed in this chapter have sought to create an ongoing relationship. Their experiences suggest that it is important to maintain an open line of communication through which it is possible to discuss both the successes and challenges to the collaboration. Vamos has conducted joint site visits as one way to share the lessons from its work.